Earthquake Followup

Well, so far things have been fine in my part of the country. There have been mild tremors once in a while, but nothing serious, thank goodness. We are far enough inland to avoid any tsunami damage, so at this point I feel relatively secure in Mishima. Apart from missing out on going to Tokyo for our bi-weekly dance practice, and every single television channel being devoted to tsunami coverage, my life has not been gravely interrupted, but I feel very sad to see the damage and suffering in Sendai.

So far it has been heartwarming the amount of support I and the country have received from people across the world. Friends and family members have posted on my facebook wall, skyped, and e-mailed me to make sure I was okay, and everyone seems to show respect for those who have been lost.

But there are some people who seem to think this is "retribution for Pearl Harbor." Thankfully, as far as I know, none of my friends have been a part of this, but you can check out this link to see what some ignorant people have been saying.

As I read this I could feel big bubbles of rage build up in my stomach. It was absolutely sickening to read this, but it was like a train wreck and I couldn't stop. I don't even know where to start on my commentary, but first I want to say I am ashamed of these disgusting Americans, and consequently almost ashamed to call myself American with this lot. It is these type of people who put America in a bad light, making us seem like a society that is ignorant of the world, which is not entirely true, because there are many people who do not think this way.

Now I'm sorry, but Pearl Harbor happened nearly seventy years ago. Isn't it time to let go? Most of the people who were involved in Pearl Harbor are gone, and whose to say that all of those people in Sendai and the Touhoku region were even remotely related to Pearl Harbor? And in any case, weren't the two atomic bombs dropped by the U.S. more than enough "retribution" for Pearl Harbor? People were playing the numbers game, but in Pearl Harbor, only about 3,000 people were killed (roughly adding from Wikipedia), while in the atomic bombings may have killed more than 200,000 people, and half of them instantly. I don't think we have any right to hold onto our grudge of Pearl Harbor after that.

And obviously they have forgotten than Japan is not just a home for Japanese people. There are international students like us, foreign language teachers, athletes, tourists, business men, and all sorts of foreign people in Japan. What about those people? What do our ignorant American people think about losing those people to earthquakes and tsunamis? Are they just more necessary sacrifices for "retribution"? And what about SOLDIERS? Mention soldiers to any American and they get all protective and defensive. I don't know what those stupid Americans were thinking, but I know that there are thousands of American soldiers here in Japan, and I'm sure some of them were as affected by this as the Japanese people were.

As for the US sending money to help Japan, well that's only natural. If you put aside that asinine, prejudiced reasoning, there is little reason not to send help. If we shouldn't send money to Japan, then we shouldn't send money to other countries either. Why should we have helped Haiti when it was hit was a devastating hurricane? Why should we help anyone but ourselves? I'll tell you why. First, it's to build good relationships around the world. We don't want friendly relations with Japan, which is a major commercial country, to break off because we didn't send them assistance after their most devastating earthquake in history. And what would happen if other countries, seeing us spurn Japan's pleas for help, decide partnering up with us is not worth their while? Then who would send us aid if we were hit by disaster? We would want to receive aid, wouldn't we? We can't just take and not give. Second, it's not just the Japanese people who were affected; there are also foreigners living, working, and traveling in Japan. It's not just about money. It's about being compassionate, upholding strong moral values and good international opinion as a country, and maintaining good relations with other countries.

I apologize for ranting on, but this sort of ignorant, hateful behavior is simply inexcusable. I hope nobody says this to me in person, because if they do they will get a great mouthful from me. And I hope that if you should hear such terrible words come out of someone's meath you will use this information to teach them otherwise, because this type of behavior is unacceptable in this global world; we need to learn to respect each other lest everything turns into war.

Please keep praying and thinking of the people badly affected by the earthquake and tsunami; especially those in the Touhoku area (Fukushima prefecture), but also in areas less affected but fairly beaten up like Tokyo. I will continue to pray for the recovery of missing people and the reunion of families, the safety of people at risk, the sealing of the damage nuclear power plant, and the restoration of the grave damage sustained, and I will also continue to be incredibly thankful to be safe and sound in my little town of Mishima.